Our Economist At The UN
7 min read
I first met Jomo KS in late 2004. This was also in Singapore, just after I had relocated back to the region from Europe. Having lived almost three decades on th...
December 2025
Our December issue examines the flavours, practices and foodways that define Malaysian life, from home kitchens and inherited techniques to the diverse cultural influences that shape Penang’s palate.
Paradise Being Lost, All Is Not Well on Penang’s Beaches
14 min read
YOU CANNOT SIT HERE, I just realised that,” Juergen Bosch says, looking at our surroundings as if for the first time, though we’ve been talking for most of an hour. The otherwise white sand is filthy, covered with dirt, detritus and the occasional plastic bottle and cigarette butt.
Manning The State Government
9 min read
The Malaysian flag, now affectionately called the Jalur Gemilang, raised at the Stadium Merdeka in 1957 when Malaya became a new nation, bears a close resemblance to the American Stars and Stripes. The Malaysian flag’s red and white stripes represent one state each as do the star’s 13 points.
Eric Quah: A Beautiful Life
7 min read
FINALLY, the pieces are coming together in Eric Quah’s life. Images of people, places and events collaged through a flourish of brushstrokes or an erasu...
Develop by All Means, But Not by Any Means
5 min read
I WOULD LIKE to touch on the issue of the type of development towards which Penang, in particular Penang Island, is headed.Let me begin with an anecdote. Rece...
Why Compete When You Can Collaborate?
4 min read
A representative from the Newborn Care Centre, Royal Hospital for Women, Australia, leading a workshop on neonatal resuscitation.IN AN UNEXPECTED move, fi...
Cooking From The Heart
3 min read
PEARLY IS A bundle of cheery energy and it’s apparent that her enthusiasm for life translates into intense, rapid-fire cooking classes. “An American...
Adult Suffrage Comes to Penang and Malaysia, 1951
5 min read
Voter registration under way.The Report on the Introduction of Elections in the Municipality of George Town, Penang (Kuala Lumpur: Government Press, 1951)...
Larger Than Life
2 min read
Ng in his workshop, decorating traditional wooden clogs.Zacharevic at work.Wall versus canvas —what’s your preference?Er...
Malaysia The Welfare State?
6 min read
EVER SINCE THE Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) muktamar in June, which had as its theme the “welfare state” policy concept, there has been a scram...
Chinese and Muslim Societies As Natural Allies
7 min read
Very little has been written on the existence of two Muslim secret societies in Penang, namely the Red and the White Flags, and their association with the Chinese secret societies, the Toa Peh Kong and Ghee Hin.
Penang Hill — Nature’s Gift to The Public
4 min read
INTERNATIONALLY, Penang Hill has little to shout about. It is nowhere near the fame of Huangshan in China or Mt Fuji in Japan. But to Penangites and many Mala...
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